visayas backpacking: iloilo & bacolod
we arrived in jaro city, iloilo around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. the vans share the terminal with the ceres buses coming from caticlan, it’s just a matter of spending a bit more on fast airconditioned vans.
we weren’t able to look around iloilo since i wasn’t able to do any research about it, the trip here was nothing more than a jump off to bacolod city. we weren’t feeling adventurous at that time and it was running a little late, so instead of riding a few jeepneys to the sea port, we took a cab and headed straight to the port.
there are 2 fastcrafts going to bacolod almost every hour, you may check their schedules by visiting their websites or call them directly if you want to be sure.
since we weren’t able to actually go to la paz, we ate batchoy at a turo-turo just outside the port. it tasted pretty much like the instant batchoy found in local stores. i think the mother of all batchoys is still out there lol.
the ride to bacolod wasn’t exactly pleasant, typhoon bebeng was bitchy that afternoon and the movie playing on board was something about shipwrecks and people being chomped off by sharks. we reached bacolod’s reclamation port in about an hour and it was already dark. we got ourselves a cab and went to tindalo pension.
tindalo pension wasn’t a classy (or even standard) type of lodging, but it was clean. i couldn’t say it’s comfortable because the mattress was hard, and the pillows were too low and unfluffy. but hey, what do you expect with P420 a night? lol aside from the air conditioner, their rooms are spartan.
i chose this pension house because it’s just a few steps away from kuppa.
BACOLOD
any aspiring cook/chef must be tested in bacolod. seriously. there is nothing much to see in bacolod, but you MUST stuff yourself like hell when you are there. my sister’s friend, patti, is from bacolod and she and hubby mark treated us to an inasal dinner that night. it was one of the best inasal i’ve ever tasted– moist, juicy and sinfully tasty. mark taught us how to enjoy it best: drizzle achuete oil all over your rice, and the best drink to match is mountain dew or lift. achuete oil is like an extra condiment common in inasal restaurants in bacolod.
gaddemmet i’m hungry. -_-
you should have at least two sticks of inasal to make your host proud and happy lol. our inasal dinner filled us to the brim, but patti and mark insisted that we go try cafe bob’s yummy pavlova desert. food in bacolod, in general, is extremely affordable and what you get will almost always surpass your expectation.
cafe bob’s
KUPPA COFFEE & TEA
the following day, we decided to have our breakfast at kuppa and order their breakfast sets. for somebody who’s used to manila’s coffee shop prices, you’d be amazed to learn that their yummy and filling set is only P95. that already comes with freshly brewed, houseblend coffee
salmon & eggs with cappuccino
omelette and brewed coffee
kuppa pastry prices ranging from P25 to P75
kuppa gelato
kuppa tea room
EVERYTHING ELSE
that same day, patti, my sister and i visited the local museum, then we had lunch at a korean restaurant, and had foot spa afterwards. the spa at l’fischer was DIVINE, i suggest you try their services and relax :)
later that day, mark and patti took us to see the balai negrense. we weren’t able to take good pictures because of the low lighting condition :(
we then headed to el ideal bakeshop where they sell the famous guapple pie. unfortunately, they ran out of stocks when we asked. :(
inside el ideal bakeshop
on the way back to the city, we passed by patti’s cozy pastry shop called puffs & tarts. it’s in lopue, behind chinky’s (also patti’s family business).
i know you can find roli’s napoleones in SM west’s the block, but there’s nothing compared to freshly made napoleones in roli’s bacolod. patti gave us enough napoleones and halfmoons to turn us diabetic overnight. it was already late and we still have more inasal dinner to catch with our cousin. so patti dropped us at kuppa and promised to bring us bailon’s special piyaya.
i personally don’t like piyaya, the one that’s like a pressed hopia. but this one’s exceptional. it’s not hopia-ish at all. it’s very crunchy, has got caramel and sesame seeds all over. gadammet, i won’t be able to stop describing the food there DIVINE.
puffs & tarts
inside puffs & tarts
we retired to our room feeling all swelled up and groggy from all food, and even vowed not to touch sweets or chicken for the rest of the journey lol. but of course, being the fatass lards that we are, i’m going to post more food pics later lol.
TO DUMAGUETE
we checked out early in the morning hoping to catch an early (and airconditioned) ceres bus trip to dumaguete, but when we got there, we were notified that the airconditioned bus leaves at 11:30am. i didn’t want to arrive late in dumaguete so we took the non-airconditioned bus and paid P211 per person. riding the non-airconditioned bus is not that bad since the air is cool, you won’t even smell smoked 5 hours later.
OTHER DETAILS
L’FISHER HOTEL
14th-15th Lacson St., Bacolod City
Tel. No.: (034) 433-3730-39
Fax: (034)-433-0951
TINDALO PENSION
Tindalo St., Bacolod City
Tel.#: (034) 7090006
KUPPA COFFEE AND TEA
Hilado & Tindalo Street corner
PUFFS & TARTS
Lopue’s Annex Bldg.
Mandalagan, Bacolod City 6100
Tel.#: (034) 708-8719, 4410027
EL IDEAL BAKESHOP
#118 Rizal Street, Silay City, Negros Occidental
(034) 495 4430, 495 4144
